Cabrach

"CABRACH, also called THE-CABRACH, a parish, partly in the district of Alford, county of Aberdeen, but chiefly in the county of Banff, 12 miles (W.) from Clatt; containing 827 inhabitants. This parish extends in length from north to south about twelve miles, and about five miles in breadth in the upper end, and three in the lower. The portion in the county of Aberdeen consists of a deep tract in the form of a basin, surrounded by hills, the highest of which is the Buck, on the south, rising to the height of 2730 feet. This part of the parish abounds much with moss and fir roots, and hence arose the name of the whole parish, from certain Gaelic terms signifying "the timber moss". . . The mountain streams supply abundance of trout; the Doveron, which rises here in several heads, contains excellent salmon, and in addition to the game upon the moors, the forests of Glen-fiddich and Blackwater are well stocked with fine deer. There were formerly two establishments for the distillation of malt spirits, producing 10,000 gallons annually. . . Ecclesiastically the parish is in the presbytery of Alford, synod of Aberdeen, and in the patronage of the Duke of Richmond: the stipend is £158. 6. 7., of which nearly half is received from the exchequer; there is a manse, built in 1802, and the glebe consists of about twenty-eight acres, valued at £10 per annum. The church is a plain edifice, erected about 1786. The parochial schoolmaster receives a salary of £32. 2., with a few pounds derived from fees. Another school has a small endowment from the Duke of Richmond. . . More"
[From Samuel Lewis A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland (1851) - copyright Mel Lockie 2016]